The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.
One of the chronic problems related to photovoltaic solar energy may be the increase in internal temperature of solar panels under continuous exposure to sunlight. Typically, the panel internal temperature rise may be in the range of 20° C. to 40° C. above an ambient temperature. This increase in temperature may lead to a loss of power output capability, i.e., the efficiency of the panel. It may be commonly accepted that the peak power output of high quality silicon solar panels drops about 0.5% per degree Celsius increase in temperature. It may be seen that solar panels may lose up to 20% of their rated power output capability due to natural heating under sunlight. If this loss of power output may be eliminated or reduced, a decrease in the cost per watt of electricity generated may result, which may make solar energy more commercially viable. In addition, the constant daily temperature cycling reduces the serviceable lifetime of solar panels.
Currently, methods to mitigate these problems have included the use of active heat removal methods such as forced air or water cooling, or thermoelectric cooling. These methods appear to have limited success because the methods may result in reducing net power output, increasing system cost and complexity, and/or degrading the overall system reliability.
In view of the foregoing, it is clear that these traditional techniques are not perfect and leave room for more optimal approaches.
Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.